World's oldest dog Bobi, 30, is also one of the luckiest

Yahoo -AFP, Levi FERNANDES, February 13, 2023 

Bobi, a 30-year-old guard dog who cheated death in his first days, is living out the end of his life as a celebrity in central Portugal after being declared the world's oldest dog ever. 

When he was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest dog on February 1, he broke a nearly century-old record previously held by Bluey, an Australian cattle dog who died in 1939 at the age of 29 years and five months. 

A purebreed Rafeiro, a Portuguese livestock guard dog whose normal life expectancy is between 12 and 14, Bobi was not supposed to live at all, never mind make it this long. 

He was born on May 11, 1992, along with three other pups in a wood storage shed owned by the Costa family in the small village of Conqueiros in central Portugal. 

Because the family owned so many animals, the father decided they couldn't keep the newborn puppies and the parents took them from the shed the next day, while the mother dog Gira was out, said Leonel Costa, who was eight years old at the time. 

But they didn't realise they had left one puppy behind -- his colouring made him blend in with the surrounding wood. 

Secret existence 

Leonel and his sister were heartbroken that the puppies were being killed. 

But then they noticed that Gira kept returning to the shed, had a look and discovered the surviving puppy. 

They decided to keep his existence a secret until he could open his eyes. 

"We knew they wouldn't do anything to him then and that Bobi would remain with us. So we kept the secret," Leonel told AFP.

 "Afterwards, we were punished, but it was worth it," he said. 

Today Bobi is living out his twilight years oblivious that he is a world record holder, except for the media visits following the Guinness classification. 

"We didn't expect this reaction," Leonel said. 

Leonel attributes Bobi's longevity to the tranquility of country living and his human diet, which includes lots of meat and fish. 

"He has always eaten what we eat," he said. 

He has never been chained up or put on a leash and used to roam the woods around the village. 

Today walking has become difficult, so he spends most of the time hanging out in the yard with cats or napping after meals. 

Many of the Costa dogs have lived a long life. Bobi's mother Gira lived to 18 years and another dog lived to 22. 

"We see situations like this as a normal result of the life they have, but Bobi is one of a kind," Leonel told Guinness.

Dutch To Ban Unhealthy Designer Pets

 Barrons – AFP, Charlotte VAN OUWERKERK, January 20, 2023 

The Netherlands wants to ban the ownership of pets such as flat-faced dogs
.(Frank Rumpenhorst)

The Netherlands wants to ban pets such as flat-faced dogs and cats with folded ears, which look sweet but suffer "miserable" health problems, the government said on Friday. 

Dutch Agriculture Minister Piet Adema said he would seek to outlaw the ownership of the designer breeds and to ban photos of them in advertising or on social media. 

"We make life miserable for innocent animals, purely because we think they are 'beautiful' and 'cute'," Adema said in a statement.

 "That is why today we are taking a big step towards a Netherlands where no pet has to suffer from his or her appearance." 

Despite sought-after looks that have made them a favourite with celebrities and a fixture among social media influencers, such pets suffer from a range of health conditions. 

The Dutch minister said that owners often "have the best of intentions but are often unaware of the dark side of their pets' appearance".

 "This subject touches me as a minister but also as a human," added Adema. 

The government would now work out a full list of affected breeds, he said, adding that it could take some time. 

But the public broadcaster NOS said squish-faced pugs could be among those banned. 

The Netherlands banned the breeding of pets that are affected by their appearance in 2014, but some animals were still being traded illegally or bought from abroad. 

The proposed new rules are designed to close a loophole so that it will also be illegal to own them. 

In 2019, the Dutch government updated the rules to specifically apply to dogs whose snout is less than half the length of their skull. 

"Dogs with snouts that are too short are constantly out of breath, making them gasp throughout their life," Adema said in a letter to parliament setting out the proposal. 

"Dogs that have a deviant skull shape may suffer from a permanent headache. 

"Cats with folding ears have deviated cartilage which can cause them a lot of pain." 

Short-snouted dogs are constantly out of breath, the Dutch agriculture minister
said. (Mladen ANTONOV)

The fold-eared felines would definitely qualify for a ban, as was already the case in the Flanders region of neighbouring Belgium, the agriculture ministry said. 

"There is scientific evidence for these cats that they always suffer because they are a have a cartilage defect caused by a specific gene," it said in briefing notes accompanying the proposal. 

The government had asked for advice from experts in veterinary genetics at the University of Utrecht in the central Netherlands, it added. 

Any ban would come in after a transition period. People who currently own one of the pets would be allowed to keep them until the animal dies. 

Recent studies have found that pugs and other dogs bred to have short noses, such as French and English bulldogs, are more prone to health problems, particularly with breathing.